Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,442,524 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Centene worth $47,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Centene by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1.3% in the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 24,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 2.4%

CNC opened at $65.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The stock has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a PE ratio of -5.02, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.26 and a 200-day moving average of $49.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.61.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.